"Sunday Morning Vignette"
An Earthian fanfiction
Written by Komadori-chan MD 
[Fanfiction is non-profit – Earthian © Yun Kouga] 
Published 03-09-02

 

Hazy eyes of liquid sapphire opened slowly, peering dazedly from 
beneath a thick fringe of dusky lashes, soft and wet with sleep. The 
archangel Michael yawned quietly as he stirred from the indulgent 
embrace of slumber, stretching lazily to help ease some of the 
stiffness from his joints.

From somewhere behind him, the soft, even chiming of a grandfather 
clock was sounding—presumably the disturbance that had roused 
him. `Oh, the joys of being a light sleeper...' he mused ruefully, 
settling back down with a sigh. It was probably too early to be 
awake anyhow, judging from the unpunctuated silence beyond his door; 
which was just as well, he supposed—albeit, a bit guiltily—for it 
was far too warm and comfortable where he was for him to be tempted 
to rise anyway.

Closing his eyes again, Michael drifted peacefully in the darkness, 
focusing on the soothing, rhythmic, bell-tones of the grandfather 
clock, absently counting off the hour...

One... two... three... four... five...

Five tones. Silence. Repeat.

It was only five in the morning... and from the firm, cushioned edge 
he felt pressed against the backs of his legs, he had spent the 
night dozing on the sofa inside his office. `Wouldn't be the first 
time, but... O Kami... two days out of Eden and I'm already back to 
this...'

The golden-haired archangel pressed his face into his pillow, 
silently laughing at himself for once again falling into this rather 
unbecoming habit. His "office"—or rather, the "office" he had come 
to share with Raphael—here at Valhalla was actually little more than 
a sitting room that not only served to connect his and his partner's 
quarters, but also served as a convenient, and quite efficient, 
conferencing room on the side. Put simply, his bed was about 10 feet 
beyond the door to his right, and unless he had somehow managed to 
work himself blind and mistook the couch for his mattress, there was 
no reason that he couldn't have made it to his room before retiring 
for the night.

`Well, no excusable reason... but still...' he knew why he did it, 
and perhaps Raphael did as well, but if the tempest-eyed archangel 
knew anything, he kept it to himself, as he usually did things that 
seemed to bring about this line of thought. Perhaps it was best kept 
that way.

"What'm I doin' out h'ere...?" he heard himself mumble sleepily, 
rubbing his face tiredly against his pillow, starting abruptly when 
it proved too solid to give. `Eh? Wait a minute... that can't be 
right—`

"You're `out here' because you fell asleep reviewing the field 
reports with me last night, Michael-sama," came the softly spoken 
reply, mirroring the faint vibrations beneath his ear, where he had 
imagined a moment before, a pillow should be.

Michael flinched at the sound of Raphael's voice, suddenly fully 
aware of where he was and the position he was in—half propped, half 
lying against his partner, who appeared to only have the support of 
the back of the sofa to keep him comfortable. Michael felt a tiny 
stab of guilt, his self-preservation quickly falling into the 
background in the face of his remorse for Raphael's situation. Even 
still, he felt his face flush in response to his partner's proximity 
and had to force himself to keep his eyes closed and his voice calm 
and even. "Oh... M'sorry..."

"It's fine," Raphael said quietly, his tone indicating that he 
understood the true intention of the apology, "You were tired and I 
did not want to disturb you." He shifted briefly and Michael thought 
he felt a blanket being pulled up around his shoulders. "Besides," 
the ash blonde archangel placed gentle hands on his arms, "it wasn't 
so uncomfortable."

"Mm... Thank you..." Michael yawned, a small smile—half from relief 
and half from something else entirely—settling on his lips, "But—if 
you don't mind—I'd rather not get up just yet... `s too early..."

"Wakatta..." Raphael murmured, "Go back to sleep, Michael-sama, you 
need your rest. We still have more reports to go over later."

"N... tonight..." Michael agreed, nuzzling contentedly against 
Raphael's chest, knowing in the back of his mind that the other 
angel realized exactly what he was proposing. Not that he would 
mind... he never seemed to when it came down to it.

"Alright. Tonight..." Raphael nodded to no one in particular, 
allowing himself a secret, tender smile for his senior before 
settling back down into a more comfortable position and wrapping his 
arms lightly around his friend. "Just one thing, though..." he added 
absently, letting his eyes flutter shut.

"Hm?"

"If you're going to fall asleep again, bring a pillow with you—my 
back hurts."

Tired though he was, Michael's laughter sparkled like wind chimes in 
the breeze, "Of course..."

 

-- owari --